i know this is a ridiculously basic question, but i rarely use styling product on my hair and am completely clueless as to what's the best thing to use in my case-- basically, i love wearing my hair in a french twist, but more often than not, i end up with little baby hairs and random fly-around hair sticking out after i put my hair up. normally, that's fine, but what can i do if i want it to look more sleek/professional?

do i just use hairspray to get these guys to stick down? or mousse? or gel?

thanks! :flowers:

Aloe gel works really well for me. :flowers:
jes

Aloe gel works really well for me. :flowers:
jes

i tried aloe gel once, but for some reason it made my hair look greasy! mabe i put on too much? do you cut it with water or anything? thanks!

Pomades are good for sleek hair. Second-day hair or older and pomade is what I personally need for sleek hair. I use pure shea butter as my pomade. Citre Shine's got a good one but I can't think of the name of it. Something with Highly Polished in the name, I think.

I use aloe vera gel when I'm going for the sleek look. A dime-sized dollop seems to be plenty without going overboard.

I find that freshly washed hair makes flyaways and fuzzies and wispies that tickle. My answer is to wear an updo on day two or three or four - depending on how long you can go between washings. ;)

I use a leave in conditioner for this purpose. Currently using Giovanni Direct Leave In.
Daneille

Last time I needed a sleek updo I spritzed my hair before putting it up. I mixed a nickle size dollop of condish, an ounce of leave in hair oil, and a dash of lavander in a spritzer bottle, I then filled it the most of the way up with water. I left some space at teh top for shaking....Which you need to do to get the condish broken up and mixed in. Let it sit for a few days, shaking every time I used the bathroom. It got it fairly well mixed. I still have to shake it before I spritz to remix the oil and water. But it makes my updos nice and smooth.

My best sleekest updos are done on severely oily hair that really should have been washed yesterday (day 5 and onwards on my hair). Smooth it into an updo, use a finetoothed comb to remove any largeish bumps on the surface, lightly glide a BBB over the surface to slick it down into a shiny, cohesive mass - not a strand will move out of place the entire day, even if it's windy.

I guess the same effect could be had with oils - or pomade like Rain suggested. Work it into the hair, do the updo and slick down the surface. It won't be a 'fluffy' updo with a smooth surface - rather an updo that sits very close to the scalp.

I use aloe vera gel. My hair is fine= LOTS of flyaways, but aloe vera tames them nicely. I've noticed though, that the sleek look I like so much is best achieved if the hair is a little dirty.

Sometimes I also use a fine bun net. It's especially good with cinnabuns and other "round" styles.

Normally I don't sweat the wispies, but when I do, I use Aquanet hairspray. This is only about once a year or so. I think I've had the same can for half a decade or more. HTH!

A little bit of oil or SIAS (Shea it ain't so- made by LHC's CurlyBrunette) will go a long way towards smoothing updos.

I like shea butter. Aloe vera gel doesn't seem to cut the frizz like shea butter. Start with a tiny amount and work your way up. A little goes a long way :)

Shea, or a bit of Umberto Giannini Sleek and Chic miracle finisher (warning it has cones' and mineral oil)